Veterans charity raises £10k in push to buy home in Newcastle-under-Lyme

Geoff Harriman said the charity would keep pushing to raise the £120,000 to buy the building

A charity supporting military veterans which faces losing its home has raised more than £10,000 towards a £120,000 campaign to buy it.

The Tri Services and Veterans Support Centre said it had helped more than 10,000 people over seven years from the Newcastle-under-Lyme site.

Owner Staffordshire County Council has given the charity about six months to raise the money.

The authority said it would help it find sources of funding.

The charity has done a lot to improve the building but it needs long-term investment which current arrangements do not allow, councillor Mark Deaville said.

"We are keen to find a solution which will give them the certainty they need for the future," he added.

The charity has used the centre in Newcastle-under-Lyme for seven years

Billionaire and local mobile phone entrepreneur John Caudwell has promised to match public donations to help the charity buy the building.

The charity said its current fundraising total of £10,167 did not include Mr Caudwell's match-funding.

"We will continue to have a massive push in fundraising, awareness and to raise the monetary funds to purchase the building," Geoff Harriman, from the charity, said.